-
Bitcoin
topped
$67,000,
a
more
than
10%
jump
from
lows
hit
hours
earlier,
after
the
Fed’s
decision
on
rates
and
comments
about
interest
rates. -
Ether
rebounded
from
a
drop
prompted
by
fears
of
more
SEC
regulation,
while
dogecoin
soared
on
Coinbase’s
plan
to
list
futures
contracts.
Crypto
markets
bounced
sharply
higher
and
bitcoin
(BTC)
targeting
$67,000
on
Wednesday
as
U.S.
Federal
Reserve
Chair
Jerome
Powell
hit
a
dovish
tone
after
and
the
central
bank
maintained
its
outlook
for
three
rate
cuts
this
year
despite
hotter-than-expected
inflation
figures.
Bitcoin
(BTC)
hit
a
$67,781
daily
high,
recording
a
more
than
10%
recovery
from
level
seen
hours
earlier.
Ether
(ETH)
erased
its
6%
dip
earlier
in
the
day
that
had
been
triggered
by
news
reports
about
the
Ethereum
Foundation
facing
a
confidential
inquiry
from
an
unnamed
government
and
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
considering
classifying
the
asset
as
a
security.
Dogecoin
(DOGE),
litecoin
(LTC)
and
bitcoin
cash
(BCH)
led
gains
among
major
cryptocurrencies
as
people
finally
noticed
a
Coinbase
plan,
posted
on
a
U.S.
regulator’s
website
several
weeks
ago,
to
offer
futures
contracts
on
them.
The
broad-market
CoinDesk
20
Index
(CD20)
was
up
nearly
3%
over
the
past
24
hours.
Biggest
gainers
in
the
CoinDesk
20
Index
on
March
20
(CoinDesk)
Traditional
markets
also
climbed
higher.
The
S&P
500
index
jumped
nearly
1%
to
a
fresh
all-time
high,
while
the
tech-heavy
Nasdaq-100
gained
1.3%.
The
U.S.
dollar
index
(DXY),
which
measures
the
strength
of
the
dollar
against
other
major
currencies,
declined
nearly
0.7%
from
its
session
high,
signaling
a
greater
risk
appetite
among
investors.
Digital
asset
prices
suffered
a
steep
correction
over
the
past
week,
with
BTC
enduring
its
largest
daily
loss
since
the
collapse
of
FTX
in
November
2022,
as
market
participants
turned
risk-averse
ahead
of
the
Fed’s
Wednesday
decision,
fearing
that
last
month’s
stickier
inflation
reports
could
deter
the
Fed
rate
cut
plans.
Wednesday’s
Federal
Open
Market
Committee
(FOMC)
concluded
with
policymakers
keeping
interest
rates
and
rate
cut
plans
steady,
removing
the
risk
of
a
more
hawkish
scenario
that
had
weighed
on
asset
prices.
Powell
said
during
a
press
conference
that
“we
are
making
good
progress
on
bringing
inflation
down,”
despite
the
higher
inflation
readings.
“Fed
expects
slightly
higher
inflation
but
not
enough
to
derail
their
dovish
inclination,”
Fejau,
an
analyst
at
market
analytics
firm
Reflexivity
Research,
said
in
an
X
post.
“Up
only.”
UPDATE
(March
20,
20:50
UTC):
Revises
headline,
updates
with
bitcoin
topping
$67,000.